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Says Planemaker Not Compliant With SOX Guidelines

Nicholas Tides lost his job at
Boeing last Friday... and he says it had everything to do with a
conversation he had with the Seattle (WA) Post-Intelligencer
earlier this year.

Tides talked with the paper in July, regarding an investigative
report by the paper into allegations the company failed to properly
safeguard its computer systems against manipulation and fraud. The
problems were discovered during a mandated audit, as called for by
the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

While acknowledging it spoke with Tides regarding the SOX story,
the P-I would not confirm its report was based specifically on any
information given by the information technology auditor. Boeing
maintains it is fully complaint with Sarbanes-Oxley standards.

Tides told the paper Sunday he was notified earlier in the week
he was being investigated... and that he was not allowed to discuss
allegations with any other workers. The St. Louis-based worker also
shared his concerns with the Securities and Exchange
Commission.

The P-I states it spoke with "dozens" of employees and
contractors in researching the July report... and that many feared
they would lose their jobs because of it. A representative of the
planemaker told the paper at that time Boeing would focus on fixing
problems, not on retribution against whistleblowing employees.

That wasn't the case, Tides says. He claims managers began
treating him badly after he began to raise concerns about the
company's self-auditing practices.

"Everyone who raises concerns is retaliated against," Tides
said. "There's no way in the world that I expected to lose my job
when all I am trying to do is save the company."

A spokesman for Boeing told the paper Friday night it had no
comment on personnel matters.

"We have very clear policies and procedures regarding the
release of information outside of the company. Our employees know
what they are, and they are expected to follow them," said Tom
Downey, Boeing's senior vice president for communication.